Turtle egg trade is alive and well in Juchitán, Oaxaca, where officials turn blind eye

Despite a federal ban on the hunting, sale and consumption of sea turtle eggs and meat, the longstanding practice is still tolerated in Juchitán de Zaragoza, located in Oaxaca’s Isthmus of

Tehuantepec region.

Vendors sell the eggs by the bag, either fresh or sun-dried, alongside more customary marine fare like fresh red snapper and bright blue crabs.

Mexico’s federal penal code imposes a penalty of up to nine years in prison, as well as a fine of up to 300,000 pesos (US $15,300) for the illicit trafficking of sea turtle eggs and/or meat.

“I don’t agree with the tolerance of it in Juchitán. It’s an environmental crime and the federal government is working to regulate those illicit practices.”

“We don’t earn much selling turtle eggs, just enough to get by,” said one egg vendor in the wholesale seafood market who preferred to remain anonymous.

“I agree that we should conserve sea turtles, but the fishermen have to support their families, so if they bring them to us, who are we to refuse to support them?”

“The eggs are prepared either boiled or sun-dried, and served on crispy tortillas called totopos,” said the anonymous vendor. “Each has a different flavor, and both are delicious.”

“It bothers us that the government tells us not to buy or sell turtle eggs,” she went on to say.

“These days, when the local fishermen see a turtle in the water, they don’t take it. They let it go on its way,” the vendor said.

“They know that the turtles are an endangered species and that they need to be protected, so they don’t fish for them. We only eat the eggs.”